ZHA and small UK practice in running for Moscow metro stations

Zaha Hadid Architects is one of two UK practices that have been shortlisted in a competition to design two stations for the Moscow metro system.

The other is Anglo-Georgian Architects of Invention which has around 15 staff in London and Tbilisi. It is led by Tbilisi-born Nikoloz Japaridze who has worked in Moscow as well as for OMA, KPF and EPR.

Two shortlists of five teams have been announced for the two stations. Most of the other finalists are Russian.

They were chosen by the jury chaired by Moscow’s deputy mayor for urban planning policy and construction, Andrei Bochkarev.

The competition is for stations on two new branches of the Moscow Metro: Prospekt Marshala Zhukova on the Rublyovo-Arkhangelskaya line; and a station with the working name Klenoviy Bulvar 2 on the Biryulevskaya Line.

The competition saw 78 bids from 330 competitors submitted from 12 countries including Britain, Hungary, Germany, Spain, Italy, China, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Uzbekistan and Japan.

The jury selected finalists on the basis of their submission including an essay and visuals, as well as their portfolios. It paid particular attention to the way the designs addressed the architectural, cultural and historical context of the stations’ neighbourhoods – as well as their ability to satisfy passenger and technological needs.

Sergei Kuznetsov, chief architect of Moscow and deputy chairman of the jury, said they had a difficult job because all the designs were interesting and pragmatic.

He said: “I want to underscore that along with experienced architects and international industry leaders, some very young teams also became finalists. It’s great to see transportation planning specialists like Timur Bashkayev and international stars working together in the consortium led by Zaha Hadid Architects.”

For the second stage finalists will revise their designs to meet broader technical requirements before presenting their final plans to the jury.

Winners will be announced on August 20. Organisers said they would be given the opportunity to accept a contract for the development of a booklet on the station’s architectural and urban planning solutions to obtain a “certificate of approval for the architectural and urban solution for a capital construction project” and supervision of design and construction work on their proposal.

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